


floating hearts

by starbrightlovers



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crushes, Fluff, M/M, Minor Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 03:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4505154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbrightlovers/pseuds/starbrightlovers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>gavin has a big gay crush on ryan and is too distracted by the floating hearts that signify a crush to notice that he isn't the only one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	floating hearts

**Author's Note:**

> this work is very much inspired by purplelly's loose hearts which i love love love and you should absolutely read here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2668667
> 
> no millie as geoff does not want her in fics :o

Gavin didn't have a crush on Ryan. He _didn't_. Sure, he was a good looking bloke and Gavin always had fun around him but it was the same way with Michael, right?

At least he assumed it was until the floating hearts arrived from Hell.

It was a nice system for some, who didn't have to worry about sexuality and weren't shy about their feelings. Small hearts, usually in a significant color, would pop up around one's head when they had romantic feelings for someone. They could be touched and held and shoved into bags, which Gavin now found himself doing.

It had just been the joking flirts that had caused it, right? Ryan and his goddamn finger comments. "I'd wear you like a glove." First puppets, now this? Gavin couldn't handle it and was just too sexually frustrated, that's why the two little violet hearts popped up next to his ear while he was editing a video. It couldn't be anything else.

Geoff shot him a confused look from across the room, where he had a perfect view of Gavin squashing the hearts before shoving them into the bottom of his backpack. He didn't broach the topic until the ride home though, and Gavin was glad for it.

"So," he started, eyes still on the road. "What was up with those hearts today?"

Gavin shrugged, but ruffled his hair up uncomfortably. "Not sure. First ones I've had since secondary school, I think."

Geoff hummed in agreement. "They're purple. That can tell you a lot about the person they're for."

"God, Geoff. Never would have pegged you to care about that stuff," Gavin said with a wrinkle of his nose. "Worse than the damn zodiac, that is."

"It's not!" the older man insisted. "The ones I had for Griffon were red, which shows that she's ambitious and hardworking."

"So obviously you were the complete opposite."

"Shut up. But seriously, look it up! It could change how you feel about them."

"You're a damn infomercial, Geoffrey."

* * *

 

He did look it up, though.

_"Purple hearts symbolize are sensitivity, compassion, understanding and thinking of others above yourself - they are the person others come to for help."_

The accuracy of just the first statement made Gavin's stomach churn. Ryan was always the one to ask if someone was okay when they seemed sick, and as long as he wasn't in a completely awful mood himself he was completely willing to fix a broken object.

_"Purple emanates peaceful and tranquil energies, as well as a quiet dignity. People are drawn to their charisma and allure. Most often they are introverted and may seem shy, taking years to speak about their more personal experiences."_

While Ryan certainly wasn't considered peaceful in games, he was very kind and quieter outside of them. He had also taken three years to mention his past modelling career, and had given the barest hints about his sexuality.

_"The best love matches for purple hearts tend to be golds and magentas, but they also have a soft spot for greens!"_

Reading this had Gavin even more stressed, since it only solidified his small crush and made him worry about what color hearts for him would be.

He padded downstairs with his hands shoved into his pockets and found Geoff in a very serious MarioKart race with Griffon, sitting close together on the couch.

Biting his tongue in an attempt to stop himself from picturing himself and Ryan in a similar battle, he stepped into the kitchen for a glass of water.

It didn't stop him. He could see Ryan frowning at the WiiMote and getting flustered over the motion controls while Gavin sped in front of him, laughing and pressing a kiss to his cheek before making a teasing remark about being the Peach to his Mario, followed by Ryan saying he's glad that Gavin isn't in another castle before pecking him on the lips.

Gavin choked on his water and dumped the rest of it down the sink before heading back to ask if he could join in for a while, even though he knows Griffon will kick both his and Geoff's asses.

* * *

He forgot about it for the weekend, distracting himself with shitty Adam Sandler movies and cute animal videos. An odd combination, maybe, but nothing that could make him think about Ryan.

Of course, hearts showed up almost immediately when he walked into the office.

Gavin snatched them down before Ryan had even looked over at him, and for once he was glad that everyone got there before him so Geoff wouldn't be able to figure out who the hearts were for.

With a small sigh, he sat down at his desk and popped open his email to check for notices before looking at the day's filming schedule.

There was an email from Geoff, who was clearly ignoring that these accounts were meant for work, and had sent him multiple websites detailing the sexual benefits of a purple lover. He shot him a look from across the room before opening the calendar and running over what he needed to do.

It wasn't an especially busy day- there was a Things to Do in GTA and a VS. that was just Michael and Lindsay, and then Gavin had the podcast later that day. Nothing that should set off the hearts, but if Gavin knew Geoff as well as he thought, there would be plenty of opportunities somehow.

Gavin spent half an hour messing around in an empty multiplayer world, trying to earn a little extra money since he'd been mugged several times when they last filmed. It was becoming a necessity to drop it all in the bank before playing with everyone, and usually they would joke about how broke he was but it didn't matter.

"Alright guys, let's get into today's Things to Do," Geoff announced, loading up the game and adjusting his capture. "It's a bike deathmatch with grenades as the main weapon. Don't have a good name for it just yet, so if you've got one spit it out."

"Team Bike Dynamite," Gavin joked, glancing over at Michael and giving him a shit-eating grin.

"Shut the fuck up, Gavin," Michael replied with a roll of his eyes. "Bike-nado or some shit like that."

"Grenade Peddling?" Ryan suggested, aimlessly fiddling with his mic. "Like peddling on a bike and selling grenades?"

"We aren't selling grenades, but that's not awful. We can use that," Geoff decided. "This is Geoff syncing, one two three, one two three."

Gavin was glad that Ryan's focus was on Geoff and his microphone, allowing him to dispose of the small heart that had arrived.

After everyone had synced up and managed to get in one game without crashing, Geoff rushed out an explanation while Jack sang a ridiculous song about explosives in the background.

"Alright dickheads, this is Grenade Peddling. You have to stay on a bike and you're trying to get fifteen grenade kills in fifteen minutes. Good fuckin luck!"

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch cherry bomb!" 

"Thank you Jack for that useless addition," Gavin teased, hopping on the closest bike and equipping his grenades. "Shit, I've only got four grenades."

"Ooh, now who's got a useless addition?" Jack retaliated, launching a grenade at him and taking him out immediately.

"Fuckin' got 'em!" Michael jeered, launching a couple grenades of his own at Geoff.

They went on in about the same fashion, Geoff whining every time he got killed while cooking an explosive and Jack calling Ryan a nutcase when he took the lead. Gavin stayed mostly to himself, making annoyed sounds when he died but not trash talking everyone for once.

"Gavin, I'm so sorry!" Ryan apologized profusely before he exploded him, taking the final kill.

"Awww, Ryan," Gavin said with a fake pout. "Team Love 'n' Stuff!"

He could feel the heart straining to pop up, but he fiercely mashed the A button as a distraction.

"Team Grenades 'n' Stuff," Ryan mumbled as his character humped expressively.

Gavin kept quiet again as Geoff closed the video off and they all ended their capture. The less he talked, the less opportunity there would be for any more hearts to show up, especially while he was in the same room as Ryan.

"Does anyone want a drink?" Ryan asked, standing up and stretching his arms in a way that made the hem of his shirt ride up and flash a bit of skin that made Gavin pretend to stretch his neck away from him.

"I would love a beer," Geoff said. "Might as well, since we're not filming much today."

"I'll have whatever kind of soda we've got," Jack said with a shrug. "And what's up with that? Usually we've got tons of shit to do on Mondays."

Ryan slipped out of the room then, the fact that he hadn't asked Gavin if he wanted anything specifically somehow weighing the younger man down a bit even though it was his fault for not responding.

"I'm going on the podcast for a bit tonight. Haven't done it for a while, that's all."

Gavin rolled his eyes at that, knowing full well that Geoff would show up and drink a beer before leaving.

Ryan returned to the room with his hands full of drinks. He handed Geoff his beer and Jack a regular coke before setting his own diet one on his desk.

"Gavin and Michael, did you want anything?" Gavin thought his heart had leaped out of his fucking chest when Ryan asked, and he didn't know how one hadn't appeared.

"Uh- just a red bull," he mumbled, trying to distract himself with sending his video over.

"I'm good, thanks Rye-bread."

As Ryan left the room again, three purple hearts made themselves known at the very top of Gavin's head. And this time, everyone saw.

Blushing furiously, he pulled them down, electing to ignore the looks everyone was giving him in favor of launching some simple arcade game.

"Wow, it's awful quiet in here," Ryan commented, frowning slightly as he walked back in. "Did someone just die?"

"Gavin's dignity," Geoff joked, but his voice seemed more worried than teasing.

"Well, that's nothing new. Don't worry Gav, we love you anyways," Ryan teased, setting down the Red Bull before ruffling his hair. Gavin flinched at the touch and Ryan drew back immediately, and shoved his hands in his pockets as he returned to his desk.

"Gavin, can I talk to you outside?" Geoff asked, getting up to rest a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Sure, whatever," he replied, shutting the game down before he'd even started it.

The two walked quietly out in the hall, Jack and Michael's eyes following them before they launched into a conversation and got to work on their other projects.

"Why're you freaking out so badly? Ryan's not gonna hurt you by messing up your hair and nobody's judging you for having hearts."

Somehow, Geoff had managed to miss completely that the two were connected, and Gavin was absolutely going to use it to his advantage.

"S'just- bloody weird, havin' someone touch my head right where I just had hearts," he lied. "Don't usually like letting people see 'em either."

"Oh, Gavin," Geoff sighed, pulling his friend into a tight hug. "You don't have to hide them, it'll help you figure out if the other person likes you back. That's what they're there for."

"But they suck!" Gavin exclaimed, pushing Geoff away. "I don't _want_ him to know when I barely know I have a crush on 'im myself!"

Gavin walked back into the office angrier than before, staring firmly at the ground so he wouldn't have to look at Geoff shrugging to everyone else as some shitty explanation of what was going on with him.

"Er- are you alright?" Ryan asked, his eyes focused on him.

"Top," he replied irritably. "Just slept like shit."

* * *

Gavin kept up the charade for a full month before anyone figured it out. He kept shoving hearts into his pockets or into his game cases, Ryan always seeming too distracted to notice.

Michael tried to ask him about it a couple times after first seeing them, but Gavin kept shutting him down so he stopped pushing.

Jack didn't ask at all, but sent him worried glances any time he caught Gavin hiding them.

Geoff joked about who it might be but never landed on a definite person.

It was miserable. Weekends were Gavin's only escape, but more and more started to remind him of Ryan.

He could have kept up the act, had he not left his goddamn bag in the office before leaving for the podcast.

Gavin had barely stepped into the room when he saw the two gold hearts sitting on Ryan's desk.

" _Perfect match,_ " he thought bitterly, turning from the door to go find Geoff and just leave his bag there that night.

Of course, Ryan noticed he was there and easily slid off his headphones to greet him.

"Hey, Gav!"

"Hi, Ryan," Gavin said, plastering on his best fake smile and stepping inside, no point in running now. "Er- whatcha doin?"

"Just finishing up the GTA we filmed yesterday. I was really awful."

"You're never awful, Ryan," Gavin blurted before he could stop himself. He knew the heart was popping up as he said it and he carefully disguised grabbing it as fixing his hair.

"Aw, thanks!" Ryan replied cheerfully, sliding his headphones back on to finish up.

Heart pounding and a floater clutched in his fist, Gavin grabbed his bag from under his desk and moved as fast as he could to leave.

By the time he found Geoff waiting for him in the car, he was in tears and the heart in his fist was crumpled and squashed.

"Whoa, what's going on? Gav, are you okay?" he asked, voice filled with concern.

"He's got hearts for someone else," Gavin choked out, throwing the one clutched in his hand out the window. "He's got fucking gold hearts for someone else and I feel like shit. Can we just go home?"

"I- wait, do you have hearts for Ryan?" Geoff was now full of confusion and concern and _care_ , but Gavin refused to answer and instead held his head in his hands.

"Can we just leave, please?" he asked, his voice tiny.

* * *

Gavin called in sick the next day. He didn't want everyone to see the bags under his eyes from not sleeping and how stuffed his nose was from crying so much. He didn't really think he could handle being around Ryan, either. He'd be plagued with thoughts about who Ryan liked and everything that he didn't have.

Laying on the couch, curled up in a blanket cocoon was the easiest place to be. Disney films and top ramen were a good distraction, even though he kept picturing singing duets with Ryan and how warm it would be to cuddle with him.

Thoughts of what Geoff was probably telling everyone were not helping. He was a meddler, and he did have Gavin's best interests in mind but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fix a broken heart. Soothe it maybe, but Gavin knew he'd have to get over this by himself in the end.

That's what he expected, at least. He hadn't ever thought that Geoff would be able to convince Ryan to come over.

He was half asleep on the couch, eyes closed but ears listening closely to the noises in Wreck-It Ralph. The door clicked, and Gavin opened one eye before snapping it shut in a panic to fake sleep.

"Gavin, I know you're awake," Geoff drawled, plopping down on the couch next to him. "You're breathing way too fast and you complain to much to fall asleep on this couch."

Slowly, Gavin opened his eyes to see Ryan looking at him worriedly. He took a deep breath before pulling himself into a sitting position, losing one of the blankets as he moved.

"Hi, Rye-bread," he mumbled, offering a tiny smile.

Ryan sat down in the chair next to the couch, seeming unsure of how close he should be to Gavin. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"About me being sick or... Um. Hearts 'n stuff," Gavin replied, speaking at the same tiny volume.

"I- both, I think?" he said, scrunching up his face. "I should have paid more attention. I thought you liked Michael."

"Michael?" Gavin squawked, throwing a blanket off as he moved an arm. "He's my bloody- best friend, I could never like him!"

Ryan turned red and stared at the floor. They both stayed quiet for an awkward moment before Geoff spoke.

"Well, I'm gonna go somewhere else because this is weird as dicks."

They didn't speak for another moment, but Ryan moved to sit next to Gavin, who moved the blankets aside for him.

"I kept trying to avoid looking at you so I wouldn't get any hearts," Ryan confessed, still looking down at his feet.

"I kept trying to distract myself with things that were impossible to relate to you but it never quite worked," Gavin said in response, admiring Ryan's profile. He really wanted to kiss him. "Always started daydreaming about some weird thing."

Ryan laughed softly and looked up at him before glancing away again and shoving a hand in his pocket.

"Uh- here," he mumbled, pressing a large gold heart into Gavin's hand. "If you're curious it means you're genuine and compassionate."

Gavin grinned and three purple hearts appeared over the top of his head. Ryan hesitantly grabbed one and stared at it for a moment.

"You're sensitive and you put others before yourself," Gavin informed him. "Also, you apparently like some really kinky shit."

"I- what?"

"Never mind. Geoff's fault," Gavin stumbled over the words. "Can I kiss you?"

Ryan lifted an eyebrow in surprise, but scooted closer. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds- I don't know."

Gavin laughed and gently pressed his lips against Ryan's, melting at the feeling of finally being able too.

"You're a bloody loser," he mumbled, pulling away briefly before kissing him again. "Still like you though."

"I like you too," Ryan said softly, pulling Gavin into a warm embrace and pressing his face against his neck. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

"Stop apologizing, you dope! I'm not gonna suddenly change my mind," Gavin teased, pulling away to move the blankets.

"I don't wanna mess this up any more," Ryan said shyly, letting Gavin rest his head on his chest and putting an arm around his shoulder.

"You won't," Gavin assured him, a small memory popping into his head at the feel of cuddling with Ryan.

"Hey, do you wanna play MarioKart?"


End file.
